A Chaffee County fire ban comes in two stages activated by the Board of County Commissioners when drought and low fuel moisture raise wildfire risk, and both stages apply to all unincorporated land and private property in the county. Stage 1 bans open fires but keeps several common exemptions alive. Stage 2 tightens further, prohibiting nearly all outdoor ignition sources. Knowingly setting a fire during an active restriction is a class 6 felony under Colorado law, not a citation.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-13-109 – Firing Woods or Prairie
Check the Current Stage Before You Go
The Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office posts the active restriction level on its fire restrictions page at chaffeecounty.org, showing whether Stage 1 or Stage 2 is in force or all restrictions have been lifted.2Chaffee County. Chaffee County Fire Restrictions Levels can change quickly, so look again close to your trip.
Large parts of the county sit on federal land managed by the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office, and those agencies issue their own restrictions.3Bureau of Land Management. BLM Fire Restrictions County and federal stages don’t always match. If you drive from county land under Stage 1 onto national forest under Stage 2, the stricter rule governs on each parcel.
What Stage 1 Bans and Still Allows
Under Chaffee County Ordinance No. 2022-02, Stage 1 bans all open fires countywide but preserves several exemptions.2Chaffee County. Chaffee County Fire Restrictions You can still have:
- Campfires, warming fires, or charcoal fires inside a permanent, non-moveable fire grate or fire ring at a developed public campground with an on-site camp host, at a commercial campground, or on private property. A rock ring you built, a pit you dug, or a portable ring does not qualify.
- Charcoal grills at private residences.
- LP gas or liquid-fueled stoves and appliances with a functioning on/off switch.
- Indoor fireplaces with spark-arresting screens on the flue.
What Stage 1 shuts down is any campfire or open burning on public lands without a camp host or concessionaire. Dispersed camping on BLM ground or in an undeveloped area means no fire at all. The line between a “permanent constructed fire grate” and a stone ring is where people run into trouble. Last summer’s rock circle does not count.
What Stage 2 Adds
Stage 2 bans all campfires everywhere, including in developed campgrounds and on private property. Only two fire exemptions survive: LP gas or liquid-fueled appliances with on/off switches, and indoor fireplaces with spark-arresting screens.2Chaffee County. Chaffee County Fire Restrictions Charcoal grills at home are no longer allowed.
Stage 2 also reaches beyond fires:
- Smoking outdoors is limited to an enclosed vehicle or building, or a cleared area at least twelve feet across with no flammable material.
- Exploding targets, tracer rounds, fireworks, and blasting caps are prohibited.
- Welding, torch use, and metal grinding require a cleared area at least twenty feet across. Without that clearance, the activity is banned.
- Chainsaws and other combustion engines are restricted unless the equipment has an approved spark arrestor and the operator carries a pressurized fire extinguisher of at least eight ounces and a round-pointed shovel at least thirty-six inches long.
The chainsaw rule is the one that surprises property owners. Clearing brush or cutting firewood during Stage 2 means all three items on hand: spark arrestor on the saw, extinguisher on you, shovel within reach. Missing any one puts you in violation.
Federal Land Rules Are Separate
The Pike and San Isabel National Forests and the BLM’s Royal Gorge Field Office use a similar stage system but issue their own orders. Federal Stage 1 closely mirrors the county’s, banning campfires outside developed recreation sites and restricting smoking to enclosed spaces.4Rocky Mountain Coordination Center. Explanation of Fire Restrictions Federal Stage 2 can go further, banning chainsaw and engine operation entirely between 1:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m. and prohibiting off-road driving except to park in areas with no vegetation within ten feet.
Federal agencies can also declare a Stage 3 closure, which shuts public access to an entire forest with narrow exceptions for property owners, permit holders, and government officials.5United States Department of Agriculture – Forest Service. Fire Danger Levels and Restrictions Explained Chaffee County has no Stage 3 equivalent, but a national forest closure still makes trails and recreation areas around the county inaccessible.
The LP gas and liquid petroleum exemption is consistent across county and federal orders, so a propane camp stove with an instant shutoff will keep you legal on either side of the jurisdictional line.
Penalties If You Violate the Ban
Colorado law separates ordinary careless burning from burning during an active restriction, and the gap between them is wide.
Outside of a fire ban, recklessly or negligently setting fire to someone else’s land is a petty offense carrying a mandatory fine of $250 to $1,000 that a judge cannot waive.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-13-109 – Firing Woods or Prairie
During an active restriction, anyone who knowingly sets a fire and knows or should know they’re violating a governmental fire order commits a class 6 felony.1Justia. Colorado Code 18-13-109 – Firing Woods or Prairie A class 6 felony in Colorado carries a presumptive sentence of one year to eighteen months in prison and a fine of $1,000 to $100,000.6Justia. Colorado Code 18-1.3-401 – Felonies Classified, Penalties A felony conviction can follow from a campfire.
On national forest and BLM land, violating a fire order carries a fine of up to $500 and up to six months in jail under the base federal statute.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 16 USC 551 – Protection of National Forests8eCFR. 36 CFR Part 261 – Prohibitions Federal prosecutors can add charges depending on the damage.
Criminal penalties are only one piece. If your fire escapes and draws an emergency response, you can be held civilly liable for the full cost of suppression.9Justia. Colorado Code 33-15-106 – Fires A fire in mountain terrain that requires aerial tankers and multi-agency crews can produce a bill that dwarfs any criminal fine.
Burn Permits When No Ban Is Active
Chaffee County still regulates burning outside of restriction periods. Any open burn taller than three feet or wider than ten feet in diameter requires a permit from your local fire department before you light it.2Chaffee County. Chaffee County Fire Restrictions Smaller burns, such as a standard backyard fire pit, don’t need a permit but must be attended at all times. Once Stage 1 or Stage 2 goes into effect, burn permits are suspended and every open fire falls under the restriction rules.